The James Dyson Award, a global design engineering competition that has supported more than 400 inventions, opens for submissions 11 March for 2026. The Award invites current and recent design and engineering students across 28 countries and regions to present ideas that tackle real-world problems. Shortlisted entries will be reviewed by national judging panels of design and engineering experts, including Dyson engineers. National winners will receive $11,610 and a chance to progress to the international stage. Sir James Dyson will select global winners to receive $69,610 and a platform to take their inventions to the next level. The Award gives winners media exposure, international recognition, and the momentum for these young inventors to accelerate their ideas to commercialisation.
Sir James Dyson, Founder of Dyson, said: “I established the James Dyson Award to encourage young ‘doers’ in life who are focused on solving the problems they see in the world, not grandstanding about them. It has been inspiring to see so many brilliant ideas from young design engineers, many of whom have gone on to build businesses and take their problem-solving ideas to people and markets all over the world. I look forward to judging this year’s submissions.”
2025 winners In 2025, the James Dyson Award marked its 20th year and received more than 2,100 inventions from young engineers worldwide. Projects provided solutions in areas such as health screening, household waste, and disaster relief.
The New Zealand National James Dyson Award was awarded to Lensare, a pair of smart glasses that detect harmful light patterns and instantly darken using LCD lenses, providing near-instant protection for people with photosensitive epilepsy or photophobia. Invented by Mark Campbell, a product design engineering student from the University of Canterbury, Lensare was inspired by the challenges faced by people with photosensitive epilepsy and photophobia, Mark developed smart glasses that detect harmful light and instantly darken, helping protect users from light-triggered seizures and migraines in everyday environments. "Winning the James Dyson Award national prize is incredibly exciting, not just for the recognition, but for the opportunity it gives me to take Lensare to the next stage,” Mark said.
How to enter Entries can now be submitted via the James Dyson Award website, with the deadline set for midnight on 15th July 2026. University students and recent graduates of design and engineering subjects are eligible to apply. The best entries tackle a clear global problem, demonstrate a thoughtful design process, and showcase originality and technical feasibility. https://www.jamesdysonaward.org/
